When I was a little girl, I LOVED SpaghettiOs. A big bowl of SpaghettiOs brings back memories of days spent with the Nana and Pop, where I watched Disney Channel (we didn’t have it at home) and play Chinese checkers.

Being vegan, I don’t get SpaghettiOs that often anymore, unless I figure out a way to make them myself. Well, I did! Jamieson even liked the recipe, saying the dish tasted authentic. I adapted this recipe by Nikki at Seeded at the Table.

Which of you vegans are hankering for SpaghettiOs? I know I am!

I thought this dish was super easy to make, about 30 minutes or so. Make it for dinner and take leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I know your coworkers will be jealous of your homemade and healthier dish than the canned version of youth.

Homemade vegan SpaghettiOsServes 4 to 6

Ingredients:

8 ounces ditalini pasta (or other small pasta)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

15-ounce can tomato sauce

1 cup water

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

4 tablespoons Earth Balance

1/4 cup soy milk (or other nut milk)

1 cup shredded Daiya vegan cheddar cheese

Recipe:

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water, to al dente (about 10 minutes).

Drain and place pasta back into large pot.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic powder and red pepper flakes and cook until just fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in the tomato sauce, water, tomato paste, salt, pepper, sugar and vegan butter. Heat, while stirring, until the butter is melted.

Slowly stir in the soy milk, then turn the heat to low. Simmer at low heat for 10 minutes.

Stir the shredded vegan cheese into the soup until melted.

Pour as much of the tomato sauce into the pasta as desired; stir to combine. You will have a little left over, which can be pour on individual servings if eater desires.

The heat might have us feeling like we are really residents of Texas rather than Pennsylvania.

I know, Texas probably has a dry heat, unlike our latest humidity bubble, but Texas is where I drew inspiration from to make chile con queso.

I chose Texas for my next culinary experiment for 50 States, 50 Vegan Dishes because I have spicy food on the brain. After Cinco de Mayo and the Mission burritos, I realized I have grown to love spicy, Mexican food. This is funny to me, as I never experimented with these flavors before I went vegan and my struggles with IBS prevented my culinary explorations.

But now, bring on the spice!

Chile con queso is popular at Tex-Mex restaurants as an appetizer or side dish, served with tortilla chips. It is usually just spicy, melted cheese, but you can add black beans to the cheese and serve a bowl of guacamole on the side.

I found this super simple recipe by The Food Network and substituted vegan ingredients. I also went with canned chilies and jalapenos because I figured that was the safest bet for me, though fresh can be subbed instead. I also took a tip from the comments and sauteed the veggies before creating the cheese masterpiece.

Wanting to take it to another level of spicy, I used Daiya Jalapeno Garlic Havarti. This blows the dish away. And even though it seems like this dip would be bad for you, one serving is 80 calories.

(This recipe was first featured for Meatout Mondays on the No Sweat, York, blog.)

I love burritos.

With Roburrito’s, Chipotle and Qdoba in the community, you can’t go wrong finding a burrito that is both vegan and hearty.

I eat Roburrito’s so often, some of the workers probably know me by name or by my order (“A vegan potato meal with ginger ale, please.”) I mix it up by going to different locations, so my addiction isn’t pronounced. (Though my favorite to-go is the East Market Street location, and my favorite sit-down place is the one in the New Eastern Market.)

Both places offer a style of burrito called a Mission burrito or San Francisco burrito — so named because it first became popular in the 1960s in the Mission district of San Francisco.

My square burrito. Photo by Bethany Fehlinger

The greatest part of this burrito? It is customizable. A few items are considered staples: a large, flour tortilla, rice, beans and salsa. There also can be a filling, such as a meat, fish, soy meat or potato, and then other add-ins such as sour cream, cheese, avocado or guacamole. Obviously, because I am vegan, there is no animal products or by-products. The burrito is still yummy and filling.

Traditionally it is wrapped in tinfoil and eaten right from there, peeling the layer back as you eat. However, since the homemade burritos are fresh, cut the foil and begin the feast! Plus, I seriously can’t fold a burrito correctly, so I just scarfed these up quickly.

A can of black beans and a cup of brown rice can probably make up to 5 Mission burritos.

Ingredients

1 bag of boil-in-a-bag brown rice

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 container of guacamole

1 jar of salsa, mild

1 package of Daiya cheese, cheddar or mozzarella

1 package of large, burrito-style white tortillas

Recipe

Cook the rice according to the package. It took me 10 minutes to boil the water, and 10 minutes to cook the rice.

Drain and rinse black beans. Place them in a bowl and heat in the microwave for 15 seconds.

Set up your station: Rice in one bowl, beans in another; guacamole, cheese and salsa opened and ready.

Put one tortilla on a plate and place in the microwave for 15 seconds. It makes the tortilla softer and easier to work with. If you have a tortilla steamer, use that instead.

Place close to 1/3 cup of rice in the middle of the tortilla. Place 1/4 cup of beans on top, then 1 heaping tablespoon of guacamole and salsa. Add about 1/8 cup of cheese.

Roll: Fold one side over the center until the filling is two-thirds covered. Tuck in the left and right sides. Roll the covered filling toward the last open side until the burrito is completely covered and rolled.

(This recipe was first featured for Meatout Mondays on the No Sweat, York, blog.)

Delaware has a special place in my heart.

My family would vacation in Delaware (Bethany Beach!) often when I was growing up. We stayed in Ocean City, Md., quite a few times, but I remember the first time we stayed at Bethany Beach at a condo complex. It was pure bliss for me. I miss going down there, and I am hopefully planning a trip for this summer.

Delaware, like any coastal city, is known for its seafood. This is why I chose crab puffs for this state.

When I made this dish, it was for a Thirty-One party I had in January.

I didn’t have a lot of time to create these crab puffs, and if you wanted them to look more like hushpuppies, that wouldn’t fly. (Hushpuppies remind me of Long John Silver’s!) Then I stumbled upon this recipe by Pillsbury and rejoiced. Many of Pillsbury’s products are vegan friendly, which is helpful for making a last-minute pizza or finger food for a party.

These cute little puffs can be a great dish for dinner, paired with a fresh salad or sauteed veggies. It only dirtied two bowls and a cookie tray, and took about 30 minutes to make.

In a medium bowl, pour in drained chickpeas and mash until desired consistency. Add garlic and hot sauce or chili powder and stir. (If you have kelp powder or another seaweed powder and want a more sea-like taste, add a generous teaspoon.)

If using fake egg, follow directions on the container and make one egg. (I usedVegg, which gave the dish an eggy flavor. But it is not needed to keep the filling together.) Add Vegenaise to the bowl and mix.

It’s another dreary morning here in Pennsylvania. It rained very hard yesterday, which I got stuck in while needing to fill my tires. They always like to give me the low tire pressure signal when it is down-pouring.

I went to sleep hearing the rain, and woke up with still another cloudy day. We won’t get relief from this mess until Friday, though it is warmer outside today (read: humid.)

Also, it has been getting chilly and I really need to pull out the winter clothes.

That only means that comfort food is on the way!

I love my crockpot, despite it being quite dysfunctional. I made the cheater chili in it, and took another cue from The Vegan Slow Cooker to make smoky mac ‘n’ cheese.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am on a budget so about $9 was sucked up buying Daiya cheddar and mozzarella for this mac and cheese. I really wanted it, obviously. It also calls for some soy milk, some pasta, and some liquid smoke. I threw in a little chili powder for a kick, because it suggested chipotle powder mix and I had none.

It was scrumptious and I actually got FULL from eating it! (note: I rarely get full from eating pasta, no matter how much of it I eat.)

Though, I wish it was a little more smoky and had a little more of a kick. That was my fault with being so cautious while adding the spice, so now I know.

It lasted me a good two days, though I did eat it over three meals. I wish I could have made it last longer, but I was lazy last night and not in the mood to cook.

What is your favorite thing to cook in a crockpot? What are some other recipes to use Daiya in? (I have a bunch left over!)

I hate that show. It is most offensive because I am Italian, born and raised. My great-grandfather Silvio immigrated in the early 1900s to pave a better life. And then these … people (for lack of a better word) disgrace the ethnicity.

I also grew up with the joke, “Let’s bomb Jersey and give Pa. a beach.” LOL. (Sorry to all those from New Jersey.)

I will say this, though, they know how to do french fries (and apparently tanning and clubbing.)

When I saw the words “disco fries” on my list, I was intrigued. I LOVE fries. No, IL-O-V-E fries. I loved getting cheese fries when I was younger, and I bet I would still love them now. And I have never had gravy fries, let alone CHEESE, gravy fries!